The Defenders (2012) #1: "Breaker of Worlds Part 1: I Hate Myself And I Want To Die"

My last post involved the Invaders and Avengers so let's go to the third team for which Namor has been prominent member (and no, I don't count the X-Men, at least not yet).

Much of this book, as is often the case with teams coming together or reuniting, involves the recruiting process. Interestingly, Hulk is doing the recruiting. He first contacts Doctor Strange then directs his attention to "the water man".

Sadly, the slaughter is interrupted by Strange's summons. The non-team then seeks to collect the Silver Surfer as Hulk explains the situation to them a bit more....

...But when the Surfer asks when they leave to stop/smash/kill Nul, Hulk bails on them.

Sure, you messed up now everyone can bail your green ass out, but you feel really really bad about it.

Meh, I don't really like the Hulk as a team member anyway. At least he recommends another member, and this is how we end up with Red She-Hulk on the team.

Iron Fist is recruited last because he provides...access to a plane. Great. Well, it's cool to see him anyway and this team should have a fluid roster.

They track this Nul character to Wundagore Mountain but as they near their destination, their plane is shot down. Making things worse for Iron Fist is that he's shot through the chest upon reaching solid ground.

This book reminds me a little too much of the 2005 Defenders book that I loathe.

To illustrate, consider that the first few pages of the book told of odd, mysterious occurrences around the planet and later The Hulk revealed a threat that even *he* was afraid of. Yet when the team's plane gets shot down, Iron Fist expresses concern about its cost. When She-Hulk is asked to join the group, her first question is whether she can bring her "big ass sword".

They don't take the threat particularly seriously, so neither do I, but at least the final page (the two images above) reestablishes a sense of danger for the team. It has a better balance so while I probably won't be in any hurry to move further along in the series, I didn't detest it like the 2005 book.